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I know the point of being a good writer is having the ability to be flexible in the type of content you write, but I still find it absolutely WILD that these 2 things were written by the same person

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Isekai except the fantasy world is literally just like a ten minute hike away from everything else and has just explicitly never been found.

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Read Sunrise on the Reaping and like, a kid got Pandora'd. Suzanne Collins you are twisted.

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Alright, enough time’s passed. Time to read Book 3, Gregor and the Curse of the Warmbloods. Aka, the one about the fucking plague.

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I love that female leaders are so normalized in TUC. Luxa, Weavox, Athena, and the cutter monarch are all queens. Luxa acts surprised when Gregor asks if women have an equal claim to the throne as men; no one ever doubts them on behalf of their gender. Solovet, Lapblood, and Perdita are respected leaders, too, and we can pretty safely assume Nike is, as she was selected as the flier representative. Grace could easily be seen as a leader, too.

There’s never any “ooooh she can’t do it because she’s a girl” subplots either, which I understand can be empowering, but frankly it’s kind of an ugly reminder, and going without it is refreshing. They’re all presented for the most part as flawed, well rounded characters, and they’re not held to stupidly high expectations, nor do they have their leadership abilities as their only personality trait.

And there’s female characters who aren’t necessarily warriors or leaders, but they’re still shown as strong and talented and unique in their own right!!

Thanks, Suzanne.

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Tuc Spoilers:

I remember when I first read the bit with Solovet and thinking ‘oh, she seems nice’ and now all I can thinks is ‘WAR CRIMINAL! WAR CRIMINAL!’ on repeat like a siren.

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I love all the parts in the Underland Chronicles where you see things that were built during peacetime. The bridge in the rats land made of Regalian cut stone and held together win spinner silk. I love the glimpses of what can be done when the Underland when everyone works together, a glimpse of what's possible, of the future that Ripred wants.

Everyone says that there has always been war, but there a these monuments to cooperation everywhere that contradict it. The narrative of eternal war serves the current establishment.

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maybe i like it when a female character is deeply flawed and responsible for countless deaths and so on and so forth. more female characters should be deeply flawed and responsible for countless deaths

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maybe it’s a little on the nose (metaphorically speaking) but man. solovet dying and vikus surviving—fragile and changed, but alive—just really gets me.

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My mom while reading prophecy of bane: “I don’t trust lady military person”

“oh?”

“What’s her name. Slovakia. I don’t trust her’

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Solovet and her lackeys jumping a 13 year old boy right after said boy rescues two of her grandchildren from damn near certain death from smoke inhalation and toxic volcanic fumes

Fuck that old lady rest in piss

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My book club called her "grandma warcrimes" affectionately

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blah blah blah the intricacies of vikus and solovet's marriage and the blatant yet beautiful allegory for peace and war as two contrasting, complementing, inextricable forces blah blah blah we all know this. i just think they might've had an easier time if someone in the underland had invented divorce

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Draw your comfort characters having a pizza party!

I couldn’t resist!!

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The entire plague problem could have been avoided if the Regalians would have just let Gregor go back upstairs to buy some flea and tick meds ngl

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So I was going over some old posts, and I had this idea. I don't know if it's correct in any sense, but I'll post it here to see if anyone thinks of anything to add:

The Bane was the Warrior that Solovet wanted Gregor to be.

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Some sketches of Judith, Hamnet & family. Def made myself sad while drawing these.